The Dragon's Fangs
by K.I.T.T. RIDER
Summary: Sequel to The Dragon's Stone. It's been two months since the Empire was sent into ruins. Kaito, now living with Droite, is plagued with nightmares every night. Vampires, the world's most scarce creature, are converging on the Dead Man's Forest. Who is Seiren really, and what's her connection to Kaito? Rio is still alive, but is she still herself? And what is Ryouga going to do?
1. Where Have We Gone?

**_The Dragon's Fangs_**

**_Chapter 1_**

**_A/Ns: Here's the sequel to The Dragon's Stone, my friends! I hope y'all enjoy this! :D_**

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Had it really been two months since then…?

Kaito could only stare up at the ceiling. One of his hands rested at his side, feeling the fur blanket beneath him, while the other clung to the necklace that the queen of this village had given him; a stone that resembled a dragon's eye. He closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly, and wished that he could change for the better, avenging Rio's death.

Instead, he was turning more and more into an insane monster by the day.

It was dark now; darker than usual. Night was settling upon the Dead Man's Forest, and Kaito couldn't sleep at all. It seemed natural; most of the creatures that roamed in this place seemed to thrive most when the sun was not up. His sleep schedule had completely switched; he was now wide awake when he should be asleep. Even Galaxy was out and about, searching for food for his mate, Veiss. The blonde was thoroughly surprised when he learned that the pregnant female dragon had betrayed her own rider, siding with Droite and her group of creatures instead of the Seven Kingdoms.

Kaito turned onto his side, opening his eyes to stare at the woman who had started it all. She was asleep, even though the rest of her comrades were likely to be awake. It was all she really did now; too exhausted from carrying a baby inside of her, she slept, trying to keep her energy for the birth, which was now less than two months away. When she was awake, she mostly kept to her bed, rarely venturing outside of her tent. He had to admit that he felt sorry for her; he was starting to feel the same way.

Night after night, nightmares plagued his mind. Nightmares of blood, fangs, and fighting. Death was abundant in those dreams; the woman and man who proclaimed to be his parents, or the girl who was his apparent sister in the dreams, the last two died the same way. Sometimes there would be inklings as to who had killed them, but he never saw who; now that he thought about it, he actually never saw the faces of the woman, man, or girl.

Seiren came to him often after he had awoken from these dreams, yelling as if in pain. The girl and her vampire mate, Vector, were cautious with the blonde, for some peculiar reason. Neither said why they were so protective over him, although he had once caught Seiren speaking about him to Droite, but he had only caught a snippet of the end of their conversation before they had changed subjects. He was always left out of the loop; he wanted to know what that female vampire knew of him.

Kaito sat up in his bed, yawning. He couldn't sit around any longer; he had to move before his mind exploded. Throwing the fur blankets off, he stood and stretched, reaching for his shirt, which he had slept without.

"It is unusual to see you awake at this time of night."

The blonde turned to look at the Chrysanthos who lay in a mass of fur blankets amongst silk sheets on her bed. She gazed at him tiredly, her face even paler than he had seen it ever before. His eyes softened upon seeing her finally awake; a rare occurrence. "I should be saying that to you, Droite."

She smiled. "I merely said it first," she replied, a weak attempt at humor. "Where are you going? The others will surely be confused as to why you are walking around during the night."

"I'm going to the river," he said. In truth, he was hoping of just getting anywhere, but a nice bath in the river that ran through the Dead Man's Forest sounded quite appealing.

"That sounds like a good idea," she replied, pushing herself up on her elbows; it looked as if it took all her strength to do so. "Do you mind if I come? I have wanted to get out for a while now."

"Droite," he began, "are you sure that you have enough energy for the trek? It's quite a walk for a person in your condition."

"I think so," she answered. "That is, if you help me get there, of course."

"Sure." As soon as he had his shirt on, he came over to her and lifted her into his arms, making sure to grab a change of clothes for her as well. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her out of the tent, and together, they slipped into the dark forest.

…

The river was near pitch black as it ran slowly past the trees. Absolutely no sunlight, nor moonlight, got through, keeping the water at its dark coloration. Kaito gazed down in the river, watching the waves lap at the sides. Droite, who had been in his arms for the trek, was sitting near the base of a tree next to the bank, running one of her hands through the water. She seemed peaceful, for once in her long life.

He finally knew how old she was; despite appearing seventeen, just as old as he was, the truth was that she had been born nearly eight centuries prior, and yet, she was barely reaching adulthood. Apparently, the dragon she had met as a very young child had told her that the Chrysanthos age very slowly, almost as slow as a vampire. It would be nearly ten thousand more years before she would reach old age and die.

"Kaito," she murmured, eyes downcast, "aren't you going to dive in?"

"Um, yes, here in a moment," he replied. No, he wasn't afraid of undressing in front of her (she was the first of two women that had seen him fully unclothed). He was just nervous that something might happen between them that he would later come to regret. Hurriedly, he slipped out of his clothes and stepped into the slow-flowing water, shivering as the cold liquid seeped into his skin.

Droite watched him through narrowed eyes. At least the water came up to his chest, but it was obvious that she was pleased with what she was seeing. Her pupils and irises had turned orange while her sclera had turned black; a sign that her Seer of the Chrysanthos ability was activated, a behavior she had explained that, when she wanted something badly, would turn her eyes into those colors. Her fangs were elongated, and she let out an erotic purr.

God, that right there made him shiver.

"What's keeping you, Droite?" he asked, eyes also narrowed. "I thought you said you wanted to join me."

She smiled, using what energy she had to pull her clothing off and slide into the water. The liquid helped her move without placing too much stress on her body. She came over to him, purring deeply. "I'm not refusing time with you, Kaito."

He snaked his arms around her and pulled her flush against him, planting a kiss on her lips. Her wings unfolded and cocooned them in a gentle, warm, golden blanket. Lowering his arms slightly, he gently picked her up, and she laced her legs around his waist.

Yes, in the short two months that he had been away from the Empire, he had completely changed. The Tenjou Kaito who was the loyal dragon rider and fiancé of Kamishiro Rio was no more. He was just Kaito, the rider turned lover of a Chrysanthos.

…

…

Ryouga used his cane to get from room to room nowadays; ever since he and his sister had relocated to Baniron, he was under a permanent handicap, his leg disabled slightly from whatever creature had snapped it. That was the least of his worries; his kingdom was in shambles and now Baniron, his arch enemy kingdom, was going to be his home base until he had a proper view of what he was going to do next.

That wasn't going to be for a long time, he could imagine.

Then there was Rio…

The former king shook his head. She was his sister; he couldn't simply give up on her, even if she had been turned into a monster that craved human blood. Even if she had lost a pregnancy because of that. Even if…

He couldn't think any longer.

Ryouga pushed open the heavy door leading to the chambers that his sister was currently locked in. There were no windows, heavy black curtains draped over every wall, grey carpet stained with blood covering the floor. The purple-haired boy sighed deeply; he was bound to meet the sight of his sister here in a minute, which would probably give him unwanted nightmares for a while.

Shaking his head, he stepped inside and shut the door tightly. In the background, he could hear the empty mewls echoing off the walls and the clanking of heavy chains against the bedding platform. As he approached the platform, which was draped in red silk, he could see her twisting form, her arms and legs kicking against the restraints as she tried desperately to free herself. The moment he came near the bed, her head turned to him and she snapped her jaws at him.

Huge fangs elongated, eyes completely black, she wasn't the Rio he had known before the wedding; no, she was a complete and utter monster. Dressed in a black kimono that looked like she had torn at it when they had released her once, she continued to twist her body into unnatural positions, roaring and snapping her teeth together. A single, mangled word came from her, as if it were the only one she now knew: _hungry._

He approached her, coming to the side of the platform. Her eyes widened and she screeched, pulling hard on her chains, reaching for her brother as if he were prey.

They said he was the only one that was allowed to do this. He was glad they let him.

He lowered his wrist to her and she roared, biting hard into his skin and drinking greedily.

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**_A/Ns: That answers some things, eh? XD Review!_**


	2. The Heart of the Soul

_**The Dragon's Fangs**_

_**Chapter 2**_

_**A/Ns: Don't fret, my Diamondshipping fans. There will be some Diamond in later chappies, I swear.**_

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At least the stars didn't seem to care about their forbidden relationship.

Kaito pulled himself away from Droite, having to roll onto the grass underneath them. He looked upwards through a hole in the canopy above (which he did not see until later), gazing to the stars and wondering just what those glowing spheres of light were thinking. If they did have any thoughts, that is. Covering his eyes with his arm, he just lay there, catching his breath while listening to the sounds around him.

It was obvious that Droite thought the same. Her gaze was filled with slight regret as she stared at him. Yes, she cared deeply about him, but… their relationship was tearing them both apart. She could clearly see it every time the blonde looked at her; ever since he had learned that he and Mizael were the only two people still alive from the Empire, he had completely shut off the nonessential parts of his personality. The supposed death of his younger brother kept Kaito in some odd limbo between sanity and the dark reaches of Hell itself.

The winged woman merely sat up and pulled her kimono to her, slipping it over her shoulders and feeling it stick to her damp skin. She didn't like the feel of it, but she had to deal with what she had. Gently, she prodded Kaito's side, and that got him to shift his arm away from his eyes and gaze at her.

"What?" he asked tiredly.

"We should probably get back now," she replied. "Yuko, Enny, and Nightstar said to be back by dawn." She flicked her tail towards the tree tops, how just a sliver of new light was coming through. "Hm, I didn't think we had been out that long."

Kaito slowly stood, going over to his discarded clothing and putting it on. He could feel her eyes on him as he did so, and turned to send her a warning glance as he pulled his shoes on. He didn't help her stand up; no, he was done being her chaperone for now. "Fine… let's go back," he said after a moment of tense silence.

Before they could, however…

"I thought I would find you two here," Seiren's voice spoke, catching both Droite and Kaito off guard. The former gazed up towards the voice, seeing her friend and loyal deputy come forward from a patch of bushes. Seiren was carrying a small child with blue hair and who appeared to be asleep.

"Wait…" Kaito said, warily gazing at the girl as she came closer.

"I went back to the Empire, and guess who I managed to find," she spoke, holding the child out to the blonde. "I found your little brother."

Kaito hurriedly took his sleeping brother into his arms and just held on to him. The little boy snorted as he woke up, but he soon regained his composure and hugged the blonde back.

"Nii-san!" Haruto cried, snuggling into Kaito.

"However," Seiren suddenly said, getting Kaito to look at her, "There is one problem."

"What?" the blonde asked. Droite stood up and stared at the female vampire.

"He was dying," she replied. "I took his life into my own hands and turned him. I couldn't just let him die; knowing you, Kaito, you love him too much and his death would have caused you great pain. Forgive me, but I did what I thought would be best for you."

Sure, Kaito wasn't thrilled, but at least his brother was back, safe and sound. "Thanks, Seiren," he told her. "Thanks for keeping my brother safe."

"Yeah, whatever," she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "If you want some advice, spend some time with that _little brother_ of yours." Turning to Droite, she leveled a glare at her queen. "You! Come with me; I am going to take you to the Heaven Stones today."

"Why? It hasn't been a week since the new month started." Raising an eyebrow, the Chrysanthos stared at the pureblood vampire.

"I've had visions of your father," Seiren said, holding out a hand to the queen. "Now come."

Only problem was, Droite had never known her father. So how did this vampire know what he looked like…?

…

…

Rio was lying on her bedding platform, chained heavily to posts at the corners. She gazed upward at the canopy that hung over her, concealing her from the slaves that serviced her room. Good for them, she thought bitterly; it was because of those slaves that she was in such a hungry state all the time.

Right now, though, she was somewhat calm. Ryouga had fed her earlier in the day; his blood always seemed to calm her. It was a routine they had both taken up; every few days he would visit her and give her the food she desired so much. Maybe it was because he was her twin, or maybe it was because she loved him so much, but she never did try to hurt him intentionally. Only when she was around humans did she act like a monster.

"God, I'm horrible," she muttered. Her fangs restricted talking, though, so it came out deformed. Even her speech was deformed.

Suddenly, the restraints were unhooked and she was free to roam her new room to her heart's content. Sitting up, she brushed her uncombed hair from her face and licked her lips, which were dry and chapped. She could just imagine what she looked like.

Rio stood, shoving the curtains away from her and ending up tearing them in the process. She glared at the flimsy fabric and hissed, irritated. Whatever that blue haired girl had done to her had certainly changed her life forever; she was no longer an innocent girl with an adoration for the blonde dragon rider. No, she was a creature who feasted on blood and only cared about getting her next meal.

The fact that she had lost a pregnancy because of what that girl did no longer mattered to her. All she really wanted to do now was find Kaito and figure out what she was going to do with him. Kill him? No, too brash. Love him? Not anymore, considering that she would probably do the former option if she somehow got near him. Forget about him? Very likely.

The former queen walked over to the mirror and stared into the reflection. She appeared more as a ghostly figure than an actual person; she could see straight through her own body, yet she knew she was solid. Her hair was severely disheveled, spiking up at several angles. Her kimono was torn in several places, now only covering her chest and hips fully. Her skin… her skin was the scariest part; once a beautiful fair shade, was now as pale as white clouds floating along in the sky. And those fangs, those very long fangs, poked out from under her upper lip, the tips being visible at the corners of her mouth.

"I truly am a monster," she said. A smile then graced her mouth, curving her pink lips upward until her fangs were nearly visible. "Droite, I'm going to come kill you for this."

…

…

Droite hated going to the Heaven Stones. She never did like communicating with her ancestors there, simply because she barely saw any of them. Yet still, Seiren led her on to the collection of large boulders all arranged in a circle in the only place where the canopies of the sequoias did not reach. The sunlight poured down into the clearing, settling right inside the circle.

"Now go," Seiren said. "I have to deal with preparations for my son's return, you know."

"I know," the woman muttered, wincing as she stepped into the sunlight. It felt unpleasant on her skin, but she ignored it as she knelt in the middle of the circle, rolling onto her back as she lay down.

This was what a Chrysanthos leader had to do in the middle of the month. Communicate with their ancestors, learn of prophecies and futures, talk of what was going on currently in the colony. This was her duty, yet she did not enjoy it.

"Dad, if you're really going to speak to me, please just don't scare me," she said, closing her eyes.

…

_When Droite reopened her closed eyes, she noticed she was in a cave. Tunnels went every which way from where she stood, a river splitting the room completely in half. A hole at the ceiling let in moonlight, which came from the four moons hovering outside._

_The Galaxy Cave, she thought to herself with slight joy. She had dreamed of seeing the cave, but never had she seen it before her own eyes. Her brother had spoken of this place more than once; since he had been older than her, he knew more of their ancestors and had spoken to them on more than one occasion. _

_"Droite."_

_Turning to the ledge that overhung the river, she glanced up and saw a smaller version of the Galaxy Lord, who had his tail looped around stalagmites._

_"Hello, Numeron," she said, quietly. That was the title she would prefer to use with him. "Why have you summoned me to the Galaxy Cave? I did not think I was talented enough to come inside here."_

_"You are far more talented that you think, my child," he replied. "I have come to tell you of a prophecy that will come into effect as soon as the leaves return."_

_"Ah? But, Numeron, I thought my father had sent a message to my deputy, saying that he would tell me of such a thing."_

_"She is right," the dragon spoke. "Droite, I am your father."_

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**_A/Ns: For some reason, that last line reminded me of Star Wars. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I soon hope to write more for you. Review!_**


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